Since it requires background checks on all guns purchased from federally licensed firearms dealers, gun control advocates celebrated the law’s purported effectiveness.

The description by the Capitol newspaper The Hill was typical: “The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which took effect 20 years ago Friday, has blocked more than 2 million firearm sales, preventing ‘countless’ killings and other crimes, gun control advocates said at an event to mark the anniversary … .”

On Friday, the Brady Campaign claimed that half those blocked from purchasing a gun — over 1 million — were felons.